Report: Mike Carey will work as referee for Patriots-Jets

Mike Carey will work Thursday’s Patriots-Jets game as the referee, according to our friends at FootballZebras.com.

Carey, in his 23rd season as an NFL official, is considered one of the most well-respected refs in the league. (In a 2008 poll of head coaches conducted by ESPN, he was tied for first with Ed Hochuli.) A former running back at Santa Clara University, Carey is a co-owner of Seirus Innivation, a company that manufactures ski and snowboarding gloves.

Thursday will mark his first Patriots game of the 2012 season, but he has become a relatively familiar face for New England fans over the last few seasons. According to Pro Football Reference, he worked a pair of Patriots’ regular-season games last year (at Pittsburgh and Denver). He was also the lead ref for Super Bowl XLII between New England and New York.